Bad News
by Em Pataki
Summary: Because of Helga's aggressive behavior, Arnold is afraid to reveal the news his cousin Arnie will be coming to town.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: I Have To Tell You Something

It was a few months into their sixth grade year. Arnold had finally convinced Helga to publicly reveal their emotions for one another. That didn't stop her from giving up her old habits however…

"Move it football head you're up!" she scowled, signaling for him to step up to the plate.

"Huh? Oh sorry Helga." Arnold gasped, bringing his attention back to their baseball practice.

Arnold stood at the plate, waiting for Harold to throw the ball his way. While Helga stood behind him with the catcher's mitt, he thought to himself _I wonder how she'll take the news?_

"Hey look...it's AWWNOLD!" Harold teased, before deciding to throw the ball.

Although Arnold paid little attention to it, Helga was beginning to grow impatient waiting for the game to begin.

"Just throw the ball ya big tub of lard!" she scowled.

"Alright already! Keep your shirt on Helga!" Harold whined, finally deciding to throw the ball in Arnold's direction.

Although his mind was focused on places other than the game, Arnold managed to hit the ball and make it to first safely.

While he stood on first base, he watched Helga remain at the catcher's plate, thinking to himself _I wonder when I should tell her? How mad will she be? Should I give her her gift…_

"Hey Arnold! Heads up!" Arnold heard his best friend yell, as he turned to see Gerald sliding towards first base.

Before Arnold could think to head for second, he and Gerald collided and the gang laughed at the sight of them tumbling across the field.

"Man Arnold! What were you looking at?" Gerald insisted on knowing.

"Oh sorry Gerald. I just got distracted." Arnold replied, not sure of what to say while Helga was nearby.

"No kidding." Gerald said wittingly, holding out a hand to help his best friend to his feet. The boys stood there dusting themselves off, as they heard…

"Crimity football head! Are you TRYING to make us look bad?!" she scowled, throwing her arms in the air.

"Sorry Helga. I've just got some things on my mind." he said softly, hoping not to upset her anymore than he already had.

"Oh well that's perfect! Sheesh!" she scoffed, crossing her arms.

"What kinda things Arnold?" Stinky wondered, scratching his head.

Arnold looked from the anxious to know group back to his impatiently waiting girlfriend. "Uhh it's nothing guys."

"Well until you get that weirdly shaped head of yours on straight, I'm out of here! Come on Pheebs, let's go throw rocks at a dumpster!" Helga scowled, tossing the catcher's mitt aside, while her best friend followed behind her.

"Coming Helga!" Phoebe chirped.

While Arnold watched his girlfriend irritably walk away with her best friend, he listened to the rest of the gang give reasons as to why they might as well go.

"Well, if you're not willing to give us your undivided attention Arnold, I think I'll go to the mall and buy the latest shoes from the newest edition of Preteen Miss."

"Didn't you just buy a pair last week?" Nadine asked.

"Oh Nadine! Those were LAST week's model. I can't keep wearing them!" Rhonda waved her hand, walking away from the field.

Stinky scratched his head in bewilderment as he looked down at his sneakers and said "I reckon I've worn this pair of shoes for the last two or three years."

"Whatever! If you guys aren't playing, then I'm going home and getting some money for the Jolly Olly man!" Harold whined, as he marched away from the field.

"Guess I'll go too then. Check on Sydney. See ya Arnold." Sid said, waving goodbye.

Once Arnold and Gerald were the only two left on the field, Gerald put a hand on his hip and said "Alright buddy. What's going on?"

Arnold let out a deep sigh while rubbing his neck, knowing Gerald wouldn't like the news anymore than Helga would.

"I've got some news that I know Helga won't like."

"Arnold. That girl doesn't like anything. Even when she does, she's got a funny way of showing it." Gerald hinted towards his best friend.

"Well the thing is, Arnie is coming to town." Arnold gulped, thinking about what Helga's reaction would be.

"Arnie?! HAHA!" Gerald laughed, holding his stomach tightly, thinking about what Helga's reaction would be.

"It's not funny Gerald. She hates him!" Arnold exclaimed, waiting for his best friend to see the seriousness of the situation.

After catching his breath, Gerald replied "Calm down man, it's no big deal. When's he supposed to be here?"

Staring at the ground, Arnold muttered "Tomorrow."

"Mm..mm..mmm! Well, guess you better find your lady and confess." Gerald shook his head.

"You're right, see ya Gerald." Arnold began to walk away before hearing…

"He's not coming to school with us is he?"

"No Gerald." Arnold sighed, once again heading away from the field.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Don't Be So Aggressive

"Bulls Eye!" Helga shouted, as she and her best friend stood in an alley throwing rocks at a dumpster to kill the remaining time in the afternoon.

"Lovely shot Helga." Phoebe complimented her.

"Pttss...thanks." Helga scoffed, while continuing to throw the pebbles.

Although Phoebe didn't mind spending time with her best friend, she had no desire to participate in the activity. "If I may ask, how are things proceeding with you and Arnold, Helga?"

Hesitating to throw her next rock, Helga couldn't help but roll her eyes at the question. It was overwhelming enough that the class had now found out about their relationship. She wasn't looking for a second therapist.

"Pttss...I don't know Pheebs. First he pushes me to open up to everyone about our feelings. Now here HE is not willing to share his feelings with me in front of everyone else. Stupid football head!" Helga scoffed, with her hands on her hips.

"Although you've done a lovely job of opening up, perhaps he feels hesitant to reveal anything he feels may make you seem a bit hostile towards him." her friend couldn't help but point out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Helga asked while cocking her brow.

"I'm merely saying while you've become more open, you've yet to let go of your hostile behavior. This can make it difficult for someone as sensitive as Arnold to reveal information he may find hurtful. Especially to someone he cares about." Phoebe explained, while Helga rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it. Crimity! He could handle nearly starving to death in a wretched jungle he'd never visited, but not a little screaming from his girlfriend? Sheesh." Helga sighed, dropping the rest of her rocks.

While Helga was pondering her thoughts, Arnold was walking into the boarding house. After passing the swarm of pets he knew he'd be seeing once the door opened, he headed for the kitchen. There Phil was reading his paper while Pookey was making a raspberry cobbler.

"Hey grandpa. Hey grandma." Arnold greeted them, as Phil turned to look at him.

"Hey shortman! How'd practice go?"

"Uhhh pretty good. I'm still wondering how to tell Helga that Arnie's coming to town?" Arnold sighed, sitting at the table with his arms crossed.

"My advice, don't tell her. It's bad enough WE have to know about it." Phil insisted.

"Grandpa, I can't keep a secret from her like that." Arnold replied, while leaning his head against his hand.

"Why the heck not? You don't like knowing when he's coming do you?" Phil asked anxiously.

"She and I are supposed to hang out this weekend. I can't let Arnie come along. She hates him!" Arnold exclaimed, while watching Phil's eyes light up.

"Well you're not leaving the little weirdo here with me! When's he supposed to be here anyway?"

"Tomorrow. His bus should arrive at four, so I'll be home from school by then." Arnold explained, making sure not to worry his grandpa.

""Hmmm...alright then. Maybe the kid's learned some table manners by now." Phil hoped before looking over at Pookey to see her cooking in her cowgirl outfit.

"Then again, he may not be the weirdest one in the family."

Arnold stood up from the table as he said, "Uhh right grandpa. See you later."

"See ya shortman!"

While Arnold was leaving the kitchen, Helga was making her way to her house. "So, I guess I'll see ya at school tomorrow Pheebs."

"I'm looking forward to it Helga." Phoebe replied, while waving goodbye to her friend.

Helga then sighed as she turned to open her door, as she already knew what to expect. She was just going to walk in to see a drunk Miriam passed out at the counter who cared more about making herself a smoothie that morning than she had about making her daughter a lunch that day.

She would see Bob in front of the tv waiting for his new cell phone commercial to come on and quite possibly Olga waiting to welcome her with screaming open arms. Would turning around and going to calmly listen to what Arnold had to say really be any worse than dealing with the neglecting family she put up with every day?

As she was turning around to sit on the porch to think for a moment, she saw someone had made the decision for her… "ARNOLD!"

"Hey Helga." he said softly, hoping their conversation would go well.

"I mean, what are you doing here football head?" she scoffed with her arms crossed.

"I wanted to talk about what happened at practice. That is, if you're not busy." he said, not sure if she would be willing to invite him in or not.

"Pttss... Let's sit out here. Ya never know if Olga may be waiting at the front door to grab you with one of her suffocating hugs." she insisted.

The two of them sat down beside one another, not saying anything for a moment; both of them wondering how well Helga would take the news.

"So...are you going to tell me what happened, or did you just come to reenact it?" Helga asked wittingly, finally deciding to break the silence.

"There's no easy way to say this…" he began before being interrupted.

"Pttss...obviously not, or you would have said it back on the field." Helga scoffed.

"Arnie is coming to town." Arnold gulped, as he watched Helga's eyes widen.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. I know you don't like him." Arnold replied, watching Helga roll her eyes.

"Gee...where in the world would you get an idea like that? DOI!" she said wittingly.

The two sat in silence a moment. Helga looked over at Arnold's sorry facial expression, while thinking about Phoebe's suggestion to cut back on the aggressiveness.

After twiddling her thumbs a moment, she continued on the conversation as calmly as she could. "So...when's he coming?"

"Tomorrow." Arnold frowned.

"Perfect." she sighed, rolling her eyes at the thought of seeing him again.

Before Arnold could say anything, she added "Well, I guess I'll have to get used to seeing the dweeb once in awhile if we're going to be together."

Arnold's face lit up at the sound of this. Not only did she take the news better than expected, but she was willing to get used to the idea of it. Not to mention becoming more comfortable with admitting they were together.

Taking her hand in his, he replied "Don't worry. I'll make sure we get to spend time together without him."

Helga swooned at the touch of his hand. By that point in their relationship, Arnold knew how sensitive she really was. He knew the tough girl attitude was an act. If only he could get her to see there was no need for it anymore.

Helga's lovesick daze was then interrupted by a set of soft lips pressed against hers. Just the touch of him sent chills throughout her body, and brought out a side of her the rest of the world was rarely ever lucky enough to see.

Arnold wrapped his hands around his girlfriend's head, hoping the passion of his kiss would show the gratitude he felt at that moment. Helga sat there feeling her vulnerable side being brought out by him once again, as she held his arms tight.

The two then fell against the door, hard enough for someone to hear, yet not hard enough to ruin their moment.

A minute later, Helga's predictions about her sister were proven to be correct when the door opened. Hers and Arnold's kiss was interrupted when they heard "BABY SISTER!"

The two of them immediately let go of one another. While Arnold stood up scratching his head, Helga sat there throwing her head in her hands.

"Oh umm hey Olga." Arnold said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Arnold! Would you like to come in?" she asked eagerly.

Arnold looked over to see Helga rolling her eyes at the thought of having to spend any unnecessary time with her sister. It was bad enough their moment had been interrupted.

"Actually Olga, I think I better be going. I need to go home and get ready for my cousin coming into town tomorrow." Arnold insisted while Helga once again rolled her eyes at the lovely topics being discussed.

"Oh goody! You must be so excited!" Olga exclaimed, while seeing Arnold rub his neck at the idea.

"Uhh sort of. I'll see you at school tomorrow Helga." he replied, heading for home.

"Later football head." Helga waved, as she continued sitting on the steps, frustrated with her sister for ruining their moment.

"Baby sister, I've baked a lemon souffle! Come inside and eat with us!" Olga exclaimed.

Helga stood up from the steps, but it wasn't to eat with her family. "Pttss...yeah, no thanks." Instead, she stormed past her giddy sister and headed upstairs for her bedroom.

Once she made it to her bedroom, she slammed the door behind her and scowled "Crimity! I get to share an intimate moment with Arnold and she has to go and ruin it! It's bad enough I have to deal with her annoying, do-gooder performances! Why does she have to go butting into my personal life?! Sheesh!"

After taking a deep breath, she laid down on the bed with her arms spread out. Pulling her locket out of her shirt to stare at her beloved's picture, she ran her finger across his loving face.

 _Oh Arnold! Why is it so difficult for me to abandon my harsh ways? I've spoken the truth to you. I've shown you my sweet side. Why must my rough side remain? Why can't your sensitive actions rub off on my attitude the way your sensitive soul has on my heart? Oh Arnold I…_

"Helga!" Olga called out, interrupting another one of Helga's sensitive moments.

"What?!" she scowled.

"Do you want to watch daddy's new commercial with us?"

"I'd rather have a root canal." Helga scoffed, not caring about her sister's reaction.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: This Isn't Right

HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD!

Arnold awoke the next morning to his usual alarm clock. The first thought coming to his mind was _Arnie will be here after school._

While Arnold was getting dressed he thought to himself _At least Helga took the news better than expected._

The only problem now would be figuring out how to spend time together without him. After he was dressed, he went downstairs to see his cowpoke grandma making stacks of pancakes for the table.

"Morning Tex. Eat up! You'll need your strength for the cattle drive." Pookey insisted, while placing a stack of pancakes in front of her grandson.

"Uhh thanks grandma." Arnold said, looking at the large helping.

"So, what are your plans for the day shortman?" Phil asked.

"After school, I guess Arnie and I will come back here for awhile. Although I doubt Helga will join us." Arnold sighed.

"She's a smart girl!" Phil exclaimed, while seeing Arnold roll his eyes.

"Yeah. I'll figure something out. See you later grandpa."

"See ya shortman!"

Making his way out of the boarding house, Arnold saw his best friend waiting at the bottom of the steps for him.

"Hey Gerald."

"Hey Arnold. How'd Pataki take the news?"

"Better than I expected." Arnold said, deciding to leave out a few details.

"You're kidding right?" Gerald replied, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I mean, at first she wasn't too happy, but she admitted she'd have to get used to it if we're going to be together."

"Uh huh? Are you sure it wasn't HER I bumped heads with at the game?" Gerald asked wittingly.

Rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold began walking with Gerald towards the bus stop.

"So, if he's not coming to school with us, when's he supposed to be here?" Gerald asked.

"He'll be at the boarding house this afternoon. I don't know how to spend time with Helga without him though. Grandpa doesn't want to be around him anymore than she does."

"Can you blame them?"

"I guess I'll just have to...THUMP!" Arnold began before colliding with a familiar face.

"ARNOLD!" his girlfriend exclaimed, while being offered a hand up.

Before choosing how she would respond, Helga looked over towards her best friend and remembered her advice to be less aggressive.

"Uhhh thanks Arnold." Helga said, accepting his help up.

Gerald looked over at Phoebe, wondering what had gotten into her.

"No problem Helga. Sorry about that." Arnold said, not having let go of her hand.

The four of them stood there a moment, seeing Helga continue to look down at Arnold holding her hand. _Should I let him do this? Is it really a big deal? Don't be aggressive Helga!_

"Well, should we go? Last time I checked the bus stop was on THAT side of the street." Gerald pointed out, getting sick of staring at the hesitant couple.

While Phoebe quickly followed Gerald, Arnold stood there a moment with Helga. "How was your night with your family?"

Helga cocked her brow at him, wondering what made him think she would have enjoyed anything about it. "Fine...once I went in my room and pretended none of them existed."

"Whatever you say Helga." Arnold sighed, while crossing the street holding her hand.

The two of them made it to the other side just as the bus was pulling up. As they entered together, Helga began to follow Phoebe and Gerald towards the back. She then felt herself being yanked towards the front of the bus.

"Crimity football head! What was that about?"

"Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you alone." he replied, rubbing his neck.

"Okay...about what?" Helga asked, cocking her brow.

"I thought you might like to see a movie tonight?" he asked, rubbing her hand with his thumb.

While enjoying the comforting touch of his hand, she still had to ask "What about your lame-o cousin? Will he be joining us?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Arnold replied "Well, he can come to the theater, but he doesn't have to see the movie with us. I'm sure he'd be happy to stand in the lobby and count the gumballs in the gumball machine."

Rolling her eyes at his remark, Helga replied "Pttss...I'm sure he would. Alright football head, it's a date."

Arnold's eyes then lit up with excitement as he leaned over to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek. Helga let out a swoon, not thinking about who all might have heard it. As Arnold wrapped his arm around her, she laid her head down against his shoulder, enjoying his warm embrace.

A few seats behind them were Harold, Sid, and Stinky. Although the class knew about Arnold and Helga's relationship, it wasn't the easiest thing to watch. Especially not when Helga was able to open up in front of everyone.

"I reckon Helga's gone and turned herself into one of them girly girl types." Stinky said, scratching his head.

"One minute she's screaming at him, the next she's making googly eyes at him." Sid pointed out, not taking his eyes off them.

"AWWW I can't take it! Make them stop!" Harold screamed.

Once the bus pulled up at school, the kids all exited and made their way for what they were sure would be another boring day of school.

Arnold and Helga held hands all the way to class as Helga thought to herself _maybe this nonaggressive stuff isn't so bad. At least I don't have to be that way around Arnold._

Once they made it into the classroom, Arnold and Helga took what were now their assigned seats. After the passed few years of witnessing the commotion this class could cause every now and then, Mr. Simmons decided to try a seating chart.

Arnold now sat BEHIND Helga, which was absolute torture for her. No longer did she get to gaze at him with the googly eyes Sid was correct about accusing her of having, shoot spitballs at the back of his head, or have his appearance to inspire drawings in which she would make in her notebooks.

"Thanks for holding my hand this morning." Arnold said, rubbing it once more before letting go of it.

Helga looked around the room to see how many people may have heard that. Although she was enjoying the idea of being open with her beloved, there was no telling how far their classmates would allow them to go before the harrassing began.

"Uhh no problem." she gulped, taking her seat in front of him.

Just when she was about to turn around, a classmate came to greet them.

"Good morning Arnold. Good morning Helga."

"Oh hey Lila." Arnold replied, while Helga couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation on the bus." Lila began.

"You mean about the movie?" Arnold replied.

"I mean about your cousin Arnie coming to town." she reminded him, as Helga butted in.

"Sorry you had to hear about that."

"I'm ever so certain I'd love to spend time with him." Lila informed them.

Arnold and Helga gave each other knowing looks. They were already well aware of the face she liked him. In fact, had Arnold not been so jealous of her spending time with his cousin, it wouldn't have resulted in Arnie gaining feelings for Helga.

Arnie dumped Lila last time he came to town in the hopes of winning Helga over. Why would she be willing to spend time with him? More importantly, would he be willing to spend time with her?

"Uhh what do you think Helga?" Arnold asked, wondering what her opinion would be.

"Don't look at me, he's your cousin." Helga scoffed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Uhh I guess that would be okay Lila. We'll call you when we decide which movie to see." Arnold replied.

"That sounds just oh too perfect!" she exclaimed, walking across the room to her desk.

Mr. Simmons then entered the room, giving Helga no choice but to turn around and face the front of the class.

While Lila offered to spend time with Arnie was one suggestion so taking care of Arnie, Arnold couldn't help but feel it would end badly for someone.

"Hello Class!" Mr. Simmons happily greeted them, while the students all gave unamused looks.

"I hope you're all ready for another special day. Today we can pick up where we left off on our nutrition lesson. It's important to know the best foods to eat and what they can do for you." Mr. Simmons assured them, while Helga sat there reminiscing about the time her dad's pork rinds had caused her to sleep walk over to Arnold's house."

While this memory was going through her mind, she felt something wet hit the back of her head…

 _Crimity! What the? …._

She turned around to see Arnold had shot a spitball at her. Mixed feelings were going through her mind. Anger that he had commit such an act; love for having his attention; curiosity as to why he had done it.

After giving a disgruntled look, she turned back around to fall into one of her lovesick dazes. It was soon interrupted by another wet feeling that made her anxiously whip around. "WHAT?" she did her best to whisper.

Arnold then motioned his head towards the sheet of paper he was holding to the side of his desk.

After cocking her brow at him, she quickly snatched it and faced the front of the class. Thankfully, Mr. Simmons was too wrapped up in his health lecture to care about anything disturbing taking place in the class. This made the class find the seating chart to be a bit pointless.

Helga then opened the note to read…

 _I don't know if Lila should go out with Arnie?_

Rolling her eyes at his nervousness, Helga passed back the note with her response. It was weird not being behind him. She felt lonely not being able to see her beloved. Helga laid her head in her hand against the desk, pondering this while Arnold read her response.

 _Then tell her he has a date with the gumball machine._

Helga's sat in her desk, nothing in front of her worth staring at, listening to the boring lecture until she once again felt a spitball… _Crimity! What is wrong with him?!_

Turning around to grab the sheet, she read…

 _I don't want him bothering you though. I know he likes you. I just hope Lila's not getting her hopes up about winning him back._

Helga didn't know what was bothering her more at the moment, the spitballs or the fact that her boyfriend was that concerned about another girl's feelings. She then irritably passed back her response, not caring about getting caught.

 _Then tell Ms. Perfect she doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell with him! And Crimity! Stop shooting those things at me! Sheesh!_

After passing back her response, Helga tried paying attention to the lecture. She wasn't concerned about either Arnie's or Lila's feelings. As long as they both stayed away from her, it didn't matter to her how THEIR love lives turned out.

Just when she had started to wrap her mind around the lecture, she felt another spitball. Helga began to grit her teeth as she turned around to snatch the note from her boyfriend, not bothering to make eye contact with him this time.

She faced forward in her seat with it to read…

 _I have years of catching up to do. That won't be the last one you feel from me._

Helga then fell lower in her seat, holding the note close to her chest. Arnold could always tell when her soft side was appearing. Now he was getting the chance to be the one to sit behind the person he had feelings for. The chance to flirt with them through annoying gestures. The ability to gaze at them with loving eyes as opposed to keeping his attention on what was happening in class.

Once class finally ended and lunch period arrived, Gerald wasted no time finding Arnold. "Man, I saw that look you were giving Pataki." Gerald said, lifting an eyebrow.

"What look?" Arnold asked, not thinking anything he did was a big deal.

"The way you were leaned over in your desk, with your head propped against your hand, just staring at her with lovesick eyes. Mm..mm..mmm!" Gerald pointed out, while Arnold tried not to blush.

"So what? She is my girlfriend." Arnold reminded him, not knowing what else to say.

"Whatever you say Arnold." his best friend replied.

The two of them then made it to the cafeteria to see Helga and Phoebe already sitting at a table together.

The boys hopped in the lunch line, while Arnold looked over to see the disappointed look on Helga's face.

"What are you staring at man?" Gerald asked.

"I think Helga's mom may have forgotten to make her lunch again." Arnold replied, while seeing Helga leaning her head in her hands, staring at her lunchbox.

"And that surprises you?" he said wittingly.

"It's just so sad they don't take better care of her. She deserves better than that." Arnold insisted, while moving through the line with Gerald.

"She does?" Gerald asked, as Arnold rolled his eyes.

Back at the table, Helga sat there drumming her fingers disappointedly, while she listened to her best friend ask "Do you have any special plans this weekend."

Letting out a sigh, she replied "Football head and I are supposed to be seeing a movie tonight. We'll see how special it turns out to be with his lame-o cousin and Ms. Perfect following us there."

"I'm sure you'll end up having a lovely time together. I must say, it was quite a big step for you to accept his help this morning, rather than following through with your aggressive behavior." Phoebe smiled, while watching Helga cross her arms, leaning back in her chair annoyingly.

"Thanks Pheebs."

A moment later, the boys returned with some food from the lunch line. Arnold sat beside Helga, pushing his lunch towards her.

"What's this football head?" she asked.

"I don't like seeing you go without eating." he replied, hoping she'd share it with him.

Gerald raised an eyebrow thinking to himself _They've been together a few months and he's already acting like she's his needy wife._

"You don't have to do that Arnold." Helga insisted, staring down at the food.

"I know I don't HAVE to. I want to. I don't want to eat in front of you if you can't eat anything." he smiled, placing his arm around her.

Helga gave a weak smile with dreamy eyes, doing her best not to swoon at him. Whether or not she did didn't matter. Both Gerald and Phoebe could see the loving look in both hers and Arnold's eyes.

"Thanks." she said softly, about to grab his tapioca. The moment was then ruined when she heard him say "Think of it as my way of apologizing for all the spitballs."

A glare then formed on her face as she scoffed "If you EVER do that to me again, I'll shove a straw up your butt!"

"Mm.. ! I'd say he has more than enough rights to do that to you Pataki!" Gerald exclaimed, while holding his sandwich.

"Oh what do you know hair boy!" she exclaimed, taking a bite of the pudding.

Although Arnold enjoyed being the one to mess with her every now and then, he didn't like causing any tension between the group.

"I won't do it again...soon." he winked at her. It didn't matter what type of threat he made as long as he sent that sweet, loving look her way. The two leaned in closer, their noses touching, while Gerald thought to himself _Are they TRYING to make me lose my appetite?_

When their lips were about to touch, they heard...OW! I'm okay!

Helga rolled her eyes, knowing who had just ruined the moment. Gerald sighed in relief for it, as Arnold looked across the cafeteria to see Eugene had tripped over a soda can someone had left on the floor.

After having their special moment ruined, Helga went back to eating her pudding. Arnold began to rub her shoulder with his arm still wrapped around her. He wasn't too concerned about eating anything, as long as she was able to. "So, what movie would you like to see?"

"I don't know. What's out?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Uhh I think Evil Twin 4 is playing. I don't know if we'd have to worry about Arnie and Lila following us in there or now?" Arnold thought out loud.

"Why? Because helicopter head is too stupid to be scared and Ms. Perfect will just keep her eyes on him the entire time." Helga scoffed.

"Uhh yeah. I guess I could talk to them. I'll want to talk to Lila about not getting her hopes up about winning Arnie over anyway." Arnold replied.

"The fact that she would even want to is a scary movie itself." Gerald insisted, shaking his head.

"Pttss...ya got that right!" Helga scoffed.

A few moments later, the bell rang and the gang went back to their last few classes that afternoon.

Once the day had ended, Arnold stood in his seat to say to Helga "I'm going to talk to Lila about Arnie. I'll meet you outside."

"Whatever floats your boat football head." she scoffed, heading for the door.

Arnold then walked over to speak with Lila before she could leave the classroom.

"Hey Lila."

"Hello Arnold. I'm looking just ever so forward to tonight."

"About that. I wanted to make sure you're not hoping anything will happen between you and Arnie."

"Why whatever do you mean Arnold?"

"Well, I know you used to like him. I just wanted to make sure you weren't using this as another chance to win him over."

"Of course not Arnold. I just think he's ever so sweet and enjoy spending time with him."

"Well, okay then. Helga and I are seeing Evil Twin 4. You and Arnie don't have to go to the movies if you don't want. I know you don't like scary movies."

"I'm sure I'd be happy doing whatever he wants to do."

"Uhh okay. We'll let you know when we're ready."

"Okay Arnold. See you tonight."

"See ya."

Arnold then went to look for Helga, relieved to know Lila wasn't getting her hopes up about a relationship forming with his cousin.

When he walked outside, he saw Helga talking to Phoebe at the end of the sidewalk. "I must say, I'm impressed with the way you handled things today Helga. You let Arnold hold your hand, sat alone with him on the bus, and accepted lunch from him."

"Yeah, I guess this nonaggressive thing isn't such a big deal. Don't get me wrong, I haven't COMPLETELY turned over a new leaf. And if he ever tries the spitball thing on me again, he'll be gettin' a date from Ol' Betsy." Helga insisted, while Arnold was approaching them.

"So, would you like to come home with me until the movie starts? Arnie is going to be there." Arnold warned her.

After rolling her eyes, Helga glanced over at Phoebe's encouraging face. "Fine. If he lays a finger on me, I'll be laying a fist on you though football head!" she scowled.

"Whatever you say Helga." Arnold sighed, taking her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Let's Get This Over With

Arnold was approaching his front stoop with Helga, having held her hand all the way home from school. As usual, Arnold insisted she step back to avoid being hit by the zoo of pets living in the boarding house.

"Pttss...I think I'm actually looking forward to seeing that flock of animals spew out of your front door, knowing your lame-o cousin is in there." Helga smirked.

"He won't be here for another thirty minutes. That'll give us time to look up the movie times before he gets here." Arnold explained, while opening the door.

Helga stood behind him, watching the animals pour out. "Crimity! How much money do you people spend on pet food?"

"Uhh don't ask." Arnold sighed, rubbing his neck.

Phil heard the two preteens as they were walking past the kitchen. "That you shortman?"

"Hey grandpa. Helga and I are going to look up the times for the movie tonight." Arnold replied.

"Okay. Just make sure that weirdo relative of yours goes with you." Phil warned him.

"Pttss...yeah. Wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun." Helga scoffed while following Arnold upstairs to his room.

After making it up the stairs and into his bedroom, Arnold took a seat at his computer to look up the movie times.

Helga went to sit on the bed with her backpack, wondering how unbearable the night would turn out. She had been looking forward to spending time with Arnold all week, only to find out his annoying cousin maybe joining them along with their annoying classmate.

"If Arnie arrives on time, we could catch the five o'clock movie." Arnold informed Helga.

"Does the dweeb have money for a ticket to whatever money HE intends on seeing, because I'm not paying for it." Helga warned him.

"Uhh I guess I can go ask grandpa for some." Arnold replied, rushing down the stairs.

As Arnold made his way downstairs, he heard a knock on the door. KNOCK KNOCK

Arnold opened it to see his unwanted city folk cousin, Arnie. "Oh, hey Arnie."

"Snort. Hey." Arnie replied unenthusiastically.

"How was your ride here?"

"Snort. I counted the seats on the bus."

After rolling his eyes, Arnold replied "That sounds uhhh interesting. You can put your things in my room. I'll be there in a minute."

"Snort. Okay."

While Arnie headed upstairs, Arnold raced to the kitchen to ask Phil for some money.

"Hey grandpa."

"Hey shortman! What's the problem?"

"Can I have some money for Arnie to go out tonight?"

"Heck! Take my wallet! Just keep that creep away from me!"

"Uhh thanks grandpa."

While Arnold was grabbing the money, Arnie was entering the bedroom to see Helga waiting for Arnold to return.

"Snort. Hey Helga."

Helga slapped her face at the sight of him. "Oh brother!"

"Snort. I missed you."

Helga clenched her fists while seeing him come closer towards her. She did her best to remain calm and control her aggressive behavior. It wasn't easy with his annoying antics however.

"Snort. Do you want me to take my lint collection out of my suitcase?" Arnie asked, while taking a seat beside her.

Arnold then walked in with the money to see Arnie beside Helga and the irritated look on her face.

"Snort. Do you want to share my gum with me?"

As Arnold saw Helga standing up to march out of the room, he said "Hey Arnie, Lila wants to go out with you tonight!"

Arnie turned his head towards his cousin while seeing Helga stand beside him.

"Snort. But I want to spend time with Helga."

Smacking her face once again, Helga scowled "In your dreams helicopter head!"

Arnold could see how easily irritated Helga was becoming. "Helga, why don't you wait downstairs. I'll talk to Arnie."

"Fine!" she scowled, marching out the door with her fists clenched.

Arnold then turned to his cousin and said "Look Arnie, Lila wants to hang out with you and Helga and I have a date scheduled."

"Snort. Why can't I come?"

Arnold's eyes then widened at the sound of his cousin's bluntness. "Uhh because it's a date. Besides, Lila's really looking forward to seeing you. You don't want to hurt her feelings do you?"

"Snort. I guess not. Snort. Can we all see the same movie?"

"I guess." Arnold sighed, knowing Helga wouldn't be too thrilled.

A few minutes later, the two of them went downstairs to seen Helga sitting in the kitchen with Phil.

"So, you looking forward to your night with shortman's cousin?" Phil asked Helga, while she leaned her head in her hand against the table.

"Pttss...what do you think?" she scoffed.

"Can't say I blame you." Phil shook his head, as Arnold entered the room with Arnie.

"Ooohhh speaking of which, here comes the weirdo now." Phil exclaimed, while Arnold rolled his eyes.

"Grandpa…."

"No arguments here." Helga scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Helga, can I talk to you a moment." Arnold asked, pulling her into the next room.

Phil glared at Arnold's unorthodox cousin as he took a seat beside Phil.

While Arnold was in the next room, he said "Look Helga, the only way Arnie will go out with Lila is if she sees Evil Twin 4 with us. I called and she said she would."

Helga clenched her fists, doing all she could not to blow her temper.

"So, that means we'll be double dating I suppose?"

"I guess." Arnold replied hesitantly.

"Then let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get this over with." Helga scoffed.

Arnold stood there heartbroken a moment. He too had been looking forward to a fun night with his girlfriend. Now she was just anxious to be away from him.

As he watched Helga storm out the front door, he heard his cousin walk up from behind. "Snort. I'm ready to go."

"Oh umm okay." Arnold replied, while walking out with him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Let's NOT Sit Together

Arnold, Helga and Arnie arrived at the theater to see Lila anxiously awaiting them. It didn't matter to her that she was seeing a scary movie as long as she was getting to spend time with Arnie. Perhaps she did still have feelings for him. Whether or not that was true, she was just there to enjoy the night with them.

Arnie on the other hand could have cared less about seeing her. His only reason for agreeing to be her 'date' that night was to be as close to Helga as possible. Just knowing about this ruined the mood for Helga however. That being the case, she and Arnold walked to the theater casually with his cousin, not bothering to hold hands.

"There's Lila." Arnold pointed out, as they approached the theater.

"No kidding sherlock." Helga scoffed.

As they approached her, Lila anxiously greeted Arnie. "Hello Arnie! I was looking just ever so forward to seeing you again. How have you been?"

"Snort. Okay."

"That's just ever so nice." Lila replied sweetly while Arnold and Helga shook heads at one another. How anyone could like someone so simple was beyond them.

"Well, I guess we can get our tickets now." Arnold suggested.

While the boys walked over to buy the tickets, Helga stood beside Lila with her arms crossed.

"So Helga, how are you and Arnold doing? I'm just ever so excited for you!" she exclaimed.

"Pttss...things were just fine until helicopter head showed up. Why that gumball has to visit here is beyond me. No one here cares for him." she scoffed, while receiving a concerned look from Lila.

"Gosh, that's just ever so sad. Does he really feel that way." Lila asked, while seeing Helga shrug her shoulders.

"Heck if I know. I just don't want the dweeb anywhere near me."

Before Lila could reply, the boys returned with the tickets. "Okay, ready to go inside?" Arnold asked.

"Guess so football head." Helga sighed, while she felt Arnold grab her hand.

A weak smile formed on her face, forgetting for a moment that Arnie was with them.

Arnie allowed Lila to take his hand, although that didn't stop him from keeping his eyes on Helga.

The four of them went to the snack stand to buy popcorn, sodas, and ice cream nuggets. "I'm really looking forward to this movie, Helga." Arnold said, while carrying their drinks.

"Why? So you can wet your pants?" she smirked, already digging into the popcorn.

"I'm ever so certain I'm looking forward to it as well." Lila insisted, just so she could hold onto Arnie.

When the four of them made it into the theater, Arnold saw the frown forming on Helga's face knowing they'd all be sitting together.

"Hey Lila, I think Helga and I are going to sit near the back." Arnold said, while seeing Helga smile at the thought of him wanting to make their date work.

"Okay Arnold. Have fun!" Lila insisted, while an unhappy look remained on Arnie's face.

Arnold then walked his girlfriend to the very back row while watching his cousin remain in the middle section with his 'date.'

Holding her hand, Arnold said "Thanks for coming Helga. I'm really sorry about him."

"Don't sweat it football head. As long as he doesn't touch me, I won't sock you." Helga smirked.

"Whatever you say Helga." Arnold sighed, while placing a hand on her thigh. As he began to rub it back and forth, Helga fell into one of her dazed looks. The movie starting quickly snapped her out of it however.

Half way through, while she and Arnold had been eating their treats and drinking their sodas, they watched people lose their heads left and right. Helga turned to whisper to Arnold "The redhead will be the next to go!"

"Are you just saying that because of Lila...and because of the fact that she's with Arnie?" Arnold rolled his eyes while asking.

"No football head! She has the stupidest hiding place! She's sure to get caught!" Helga insisted, while scarfing down her popcorn.

"I'm betting it's the brunette." Arnold replied.

"When you lose, I get to shoot fifty spit balls at you!" Helga nearly shouted.

"And when you lose, I get to kiss you." Arnold smiled, knowing he would win.

"Pttss...fine. Don't expect to win though." Helga scoffed.

No more than two minutes after the bet was made, the brunette's head was cut off and the popcorn in Helga's hand fell to the floor.

"You were saying?" Arnold whispered, while seeing an angry look form on her face.

"Oh shut up foo…" she began to scoff, before feeling his tongue being lodged down her throat.

Arnie couldn't help but turn around and take notice of this when he began to hear Helga moaning intensely. No one else in the theater seemed to be bothered by it. Perhaps they were too scared to take their eyes off the screen.

When Arnold finally took his tongue back, he kept his nose pressed against his girlfriend's. As his emerald eyes met her sapphire ones, he whispered "Having our date ruined would have been a real scary movie."

"If you mean by sitting with your cousin...I'd call that more of a nightmare." Helga said wittingly.

After giving her soft kiss, he laid her head down on his shoulder. The fact that it was a scary movie didn't even matter. It was just comforting knowing no one was sitting beside them to ruin the moment.

Once the movie ended, the four of them exited the theater together. Although Lila was holding Arnie's arm, he continued to keep a close eye on Helga.

Once they made it outside, Arnold turned to look at what was now his happy girlfriend. He didn't want to leave her, but there wasn't much the four of them could do together without Arnie finding some way to annoy Helga.

"Hey Arnie, I think I'm going to walk Helga home. Why don't you do the same for Lila?" Arnold asked.

"Snort. Why don't we all walk Helga home."

Helga rolled her eyes at his response. "Uhh because I'm not four. If anyone needs that much supervision, it's you!"

"Arnie, Lila really needs someone to walk with her. Could you please do it?" Arnold pleaded.

"Snort. Okay. Bye Helga."

"Crimity! What is with this moron?" Helga scoffed, heading in the other direction.

Arnold sighed at the idea of having to force Helga to put up with his cousin every once in awhile if they were going to be together. Then again, it wasn't any worse than her dealing with her neglecting family, was it?

As they made it to her front stoop, Arnold sighed "I'm really sorry about tonight Helga."

"At least we didn't have to sit with the loser." she smirked.

"That's true. Well, I have something for you I bought earlier this week." Arnold began to explain while seeing Helga cock her brow.

"I knew you wouldn't be happy when finding out Arnie was coming."

"Pttss...ya think?"

"I was really scared you'd leave me. I know no one likes to be around him." Arnold continued, while once again being interrupted.

"Except Little Ms. Perfect. I suppose the two do balance each other out."

"Well, I got this for you to show you how much you mean to me." Arnold said, pulling a tiny pink box out of his jacket.

Helga slowly reached for it, wondering what could be in it. After unwrapping it, Arnold saw her jaw fall far while her eyes widened in surprise.

"I thought about giving it to you a long time ago. I didn't know if you'd be mad or not."

Helga pulled out of the box a locket with a picture of their kiss she and Arnold had shared in San Lorenzo.

"How did you even get this picture?" she asked, cocking her brow.

"Uhh Gerald told me he took it before...uhh interrupting us." Arnold explained, trying not to blush.

With her hands on her hips, Helga scoffed "So this means tall hair boy had his phone the entire time we were there...and it worked?! I'll be shooting spitballs at HIM from now on."

"Well we know you can't do it at me." Arnold winked while wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh shut up football head." she scoffed.

"Whatever you say Helga." he sighed, giving her one more passionate kiss before leaving her for the night. Each time they shared a special moment such as that, it reminded him more and more how meant for each other they truly were.

 _ **THE END**_

 _ **PLEASE REVIEW**_


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